Although predators affect prey both via consumption and by changing prey migration behavior, the interplay between these two effects is rarely incorporated into spatial models of predator-prey dynamics and competition among prey. We develop a model where generalist predators have consumptive effects (i.e., altering the likelihood of local prey extinction) as well as nonconsumptive effects (alte...

Predators use cues associated with their prey to assess prey quality and to avoid consuming poisonous prey. Considerable attention has been given to predators' use of aposematic cues to assess prey quality, but little is known about predators that eavesdrop on prey cues that are not intended for them. Here we investigate the prey-cue/prey-quality associations of a predator that eavesdrops on th...

Resource availability and accessibility are primary factors guiding the distribution and abundance of organisms. For generalists, prey availability reflects both prey abundance and differences in quality among prey taxa. Although some aspects of prey quality, such as nutritional composition, are well studied, our understanding of how prey morphology contributes to overall prey quality is limite...

Hundreds of studies exist on predator foraging behaviour, and the same holds for anti-predator behaviour in prey. However, despite these many studies, almost nothing is known about diet choice by predators that feed on prey with anti-predator behaviour. We addressed this problem theoretically by incorporating anti-predator vigilance into two classical models of diet choice by predators. Vigilan...

1. Current formulations of functional responses assume that the prey is homogeneous and independent of intraspecific processes. Most prey populations consist of different coexisting size classes that often engage in asymmetrical intraspecific interactions, including cannibalism, which can lead to nonlinear interaction effects. This may be important as the size structure with the prey could alte...

In positive frequency-dependent predation, predation risk of an individual prey correlates positively with the frequency of that prey type. In a number of small-scale experiments individual predators have shown frequency-dependent behaviour, often leading to the conclusion that a population of such predators could maintain prey polymorphism. Using simulations, I studied the dynamics of frequenc...

The influence of web design on prey capture efficiency was investigated in the orb-webs of Octonoba sybotides under different prey conditions (abundant and limited). The insects captured by artificial traps under limited prey conditions were smaller than those captured under abundant prey conditions. O. sybotides webs with spiral stabilimenta (SP webs) have a narrower mesh and a larger catching...

To effectively balance investment in predator defenses versus other traits, organisms must accurately assess predation risk. Chemical cues caused by predation events are indicators of risk for prey in a wide variety of systems, but the relationship between how prey perceive risk in relation to the amount of prey consumed by predators is poorly understood. While per capita predation rate is ofte...

Recent work on teleosts suggests that attack behaviors or kinematics may be modified by a predator on the basis of the size of the prey or the ability of the prey to sense predators and escape capture (elusivity). Sharks are generally presumed to be highly visual predators; thus, it is reasonable to expect that they might also be capable of such behavioral modulation. In this study, I investiga...